Scenes in a Kitchen
by Ryeloza
Summary: A lot of interesting things have happened in this kitchen over the years... Chapter 5: Cooking with Cole and Piper.
1. Birthday Cake

**Disclaimer: **I do not now nor have I ever nor will I ever own _Charmed_.

**A/n (1/21/08): **I had so much fun writing "What's in a Name?" that I decided to do another drabble piece. Plus I made a goal that I would have 23 _Charmed _stories by my 23rd birthday (which is today--hence the birthday theme of this chapter). This piece will consist of scenes that all take place in the kitchen of the manor. I really hope everyone enjoys this!

_Katie_

**Scenes in a Kitchen**

A story by **Ryeloza**

**One: Birthday Cake**

Prue remembers the birthdays of her early childhood through pictures her mother and grandmother

_and probably her father, though she doesn't acknowledge this_

took. Cakes with rainbows and hearts and flowers and other very girly things constructed with thick icing that she doesn't really like that much.

_She's more of a cake girl. Icing is so frivolous_.

All of the birthdays before her eighth kind of blur together; a hodgepodge of memories involving streamers and singing and toys long since gone. But she does remember her eighth.

Grams made the cake

_Grams always made the cake, this was nothing new_

and it was chocolate with white icing and big pink roses on it. She put it down in the center of the kitchen table all lit up with yellow birthday candles and she and Piper

_Phoebe was still too young_

sang, "Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you!"

But there was something missing in the song

_her mother's voice_

and she almost cried from the sadness of it all.


	2. In His Eyes

**Disclaimer: **I still don't own _Charmed_. I'm sure you're all shocked.

**Scenes in a Kitchen**

A story by **Ryeloza**

**Two: In His Eyes**

The first time she found out she was pregnant she told her husband alone in their bedroom. The second time she whispered the news to him over a candlelit dinner at a restaurant.

The third time was in the kitchen.

Victor had taken the girls out for the day and Patty had been at work when he had collected them from her mother in the morning. When he brought them home that evening, he came in through the back door—probably hoping to sneak in and out without seeing her—and she was lying in wait.

"We need to talk," she said as she shooed the girls into the living room and thanked the powers that be that her mother was still out.

"I don't know what's left to say," said Victor. "Your leaving said everything."

"I shouldn't have just walked out," Patty conceded. "But you should have told me that we were in trouble. I would have gone to work, Victor."

Victor shook his head and Patty knew that he didn't want to have the same fight again. Honestly, she didn't either; she couldn't change the fact that he hadn't told her they were having financial problems. She couldn't change the fact that she had left and taken the girls with her. What she could change now was the limbo that her and Victor's relationship was in. And maybe, just maybe, she could change the future so her girls would have a mother.

As hard as her girls—all grown up!—had tried to conceal anything pertaining to the future, they hadn't been able to hide the looks they gave her and they hadn't been able to take back half-started sentences. Patty was astute; she knew what they were thinking.

"I have to go," said Victor, jolting Patty back to the present. He turned and already had his hand on the doorknob when Patty said, "I'm pregnant."

Victor turned back slowly and didn't say anything, but relief still fled through Patty; like his daughters, Victor's eyes spoke volumes. In them, she could see a future, and for now that was all the hope she needed.


	3. Algebra

**Disclaimer: **_Charmed_ is the basis of this story. _Charmed_ I sadly do not own.

**A/n: **Thank you for the reviews! I'm sorry it took me awhile to update this story. I've been really busy lately. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

_Katie_

**Scenes in a Kitchen**

A story by **Ryeloza**

**Three: Algebra**

"We can work in here," said Wyatt as he tossed his backpack down on the table. He strived for nonchalance; after years of being the quiet kid with his nose in a book, Wyatt had finally achieved some version of popularity. That is, he had friends who cleared room for him at the lunch table and always fought to be in his group for projects and called him to hang out on the weekends. The pinnacle of this new whirlwind of social activity was the girl now standing in his kitchen, looking around curiously: Lilly Anderson. More than anything, Wyatt didn't want to turn into that dorky nervous kid he had been just six months ago in front of Lilly.

Lilly tossed her khaki messenger bag on top of the kitchen table and sat down in the chair across from Wyatt. She smiled prettily at him and Wyatt's heart did a back-flip. "You have a nice house," she said.

"Thanks," said Wyatt instinctively, even though the complement was odd since Lilly had only seen the kitchen. His house wasn't an ideal place for hanging out on weekends due to all the demons and warlocks and magic, although Dad had mentioned redoing the basement a couple of times now. Wyatt hadn't particularly had an opinion on the matter until this moment. How nice it would be to have Lilly over just to hang out, instead of coming to work on a math project.

"I'm glad we're partners," said Lilly as she pulled her algebra book out. "I mean, I love Emily, but she's not great at math. I usually have to do most of the work."

Wyatt nodded, feeling a little dumb. At school Lilly was so easy to talk to, but sitting here in his kitchen he felt tongue-tied.

She flipped her strawberry blonde hair over her shoulder. "Are you okay, Wyatt?" she asked.

"Uh huh," said Wyatt.

Lilly bit her lip. "You know," she said, "there's another reason I'm glad to be your partner."

"There is?" said Wyatt.

Lilly nodded and then, before Wyatt knew what was happening, she leaned across the table and pressed her lips against his. The kiss was brief and ended before Wyatt could respond. When Lilly sat back in her seat she didn't meet his eyes and her cheeks were flushed.

"Hey, Lilly," said Wyatt, and she looked up at him. "I'm glad we're partners too."


	4. Vulnerability

**Disclaimer: **I still don't own _Charmed._

**A/n: **Thanks for the reviews! I'm glad everyone is enjoying this so far!

**Scenes in a Kitchen**

A story by **Ryeloza**

**Four: Vulnerability**

Meli is not at all surprised to find Chris in the kitchen, standing among what looks like several broken dishes on the floor and nursing a bleeding finger. "Chris," she says with a slight sigh in her voice.

"I cut my finger," says Chris, and Meli realizes that he's been drinking. Part of her is incredibly annoyed because Chris isn't the only one who's dealing with this and why should she have to take care of him? Another part of her feels nothing but pity for how pathetic her brother looks standing there with his bloody finger.

"Shit, Chris," she says. She steps towards him, forcibly takes his forearm, and drags him to the sink so he can run his finger under the water.

"I broke Mom's dishes," says Chris. He leans heavily against the counter, one hand still under the running water and Meli can tell that he's on the verge of tears. She glances at the broken dishes on the floor and shuts her eyes. Chris is clearly too intoxicated to clean up the mess, but she's too pregnant to be down on her hands and knees picking up broken ceramic. With a jolt she realizes that it doesn't really matter; they could leave it until tomorrow and no one would care. Somehow the idea makes the whole situation more real.

"Don't worry about it," she says quietly. Then, "Chris, what are you doing here?"

"Dunno," says Chris. "I didn't wanna be alone, I guess."

"Mom's going to be okay, you know," says Meli. "The doctor said so."

She immediately thinks that it was the wrong thing to say because Chris' shoulders hunch and he begins to weep in a way she's never seen before. Pressing her lips together, she places a hand between his shoulder blades and rubs gently. The situation seems so odd because he's her big brother and he's been watching out for her her entire life; suddenly their roles are reversed.

Meli reaches out and shuts off the water. "Come on," she says. "Sit down and I'll find a Band-Aid for your finger."

Chris doesn't move. "Do you really think Mom's going to be alright?" he asks.

Truthfully, Meli has no idea whether her mother is going to be alright or not; is anyone really alright after a heart attack? She can't bring herself to tell Chris this though. Somehow he seems more vulnerable than her or Wyatt when it comes to their mom and she's not sure why. So she just says, "Yes," and Chris nods trustingly.


	5. Family Cooking

**Disclaimer: **I do not own _Charmed_. C'est la vie.

**Scenes in a Kitchen**

A story by **Ryeloza**

**Five: Family Cooking**

"I'm glad you can still cook."

Piper looked up, torn between amusement and annoyance. She liked that. Falling into this familiar pattern with Cole really made things a lot less awkward.

"I thought the point of this was for you to cook," she said.

"Does playing assistant count for anything?" asked Cole. "I mean, I think it should."

"So far your 'assistance' has been tasting everything I've made. I'm not sure that counts for _anything_."

"I think it's pretty brave," said Cole, leaning back against the counter with a smirk. "After all, it's been a long time since I've had your cooking. Maybe you got lax in your old age. Maybe I'm risking my life because you put cyanide or mercury or—"

"Wow," said Piper laughing. "You're just as paranoid as you've always been, aren't you?"

"More so," said Cole. He sighed. "This is just really important to me, Piper. I want to make a good impression."

Piper tossed her hair over her shoulder and turned back to the pot of sauce she had simmering on the stove. "Lucky for you," she said, "Nora loves my cooking." She scooped some of the sauce onto a spoon. "Here, taste this."

Cole eagerly put the spoon in his mouth and made a ridiculous sound of contentment. "Perfect," he said.

"That's what I thought," said Piper.

* * *

**A/n: **This one probably requires a little explanation, particularly for anyone who is unfamiliar with my other fic. I have a series (still a WiP) in which Cole comes back to life and eventually gets back together with Phoebe. This chapter takes place in that universe. Nora is Phoebe and Coop's oldest daughter; in this story she is coming home for the first time to meet Cole and Cole wants very much to impress her. 

If you're interested in any of this series, the first story is called, "Alone, Eternally."

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks for the reviews so far!

_Katie_


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